Panic attacks when falling asleep and waking up

[Danron]

Hey folks,

This is driving me crazy. I'm so tired but when i lie down to go to sleep just as I start to relax and drift of I get the horrible rush of a panic attack. If i do manage to sleep as soon as I wake up in the morning I get a full blown panic attack. I'm so tired but I'm becoming scared of sleep because I know I'm going to wake up in a panic. I know I need to stop expecting a panic attack but it just happens every time. Any tips lovely folks?

[mandshere2012]

Hi Dan. I used to suffer with this but mine was more, I would fall asleep and wake anything up to a hour after...I was always posting on here in the early hours just looking for reassurance, it don't seem to happen as much now, but I really sympathise with you
I found eating a snack like porridge or a turkey sandwich before sleep and a herbal tea like cammomile or valerian helps and lavender oil on my pillow....here if you need to talk anytime. Manda xx

[Danron]

Thanks manda, I know that as my anxiety starts to get better this will get better too but it just frightening. Sleep has always been my refuge and now I feel scared of it. Thank you so much for your support, waking up in the middle of the night with panic attacks must have been terrifying. Xxx dani xxx

[GingerFish]

I hate those panic attacks that you get just as you are drifting. They feel 10 times scarier than any day time ones as you feel all spacey and disorientated from being almost asleep and then being woken up suddenly. I've been having ones like that every night for the last week but I am going through a stressful stage so putting it down to that.

One thing I have found that helps is to listen to relaxing sounds while drifting off to sleep. I listen to the rain falling on an app I have or I listen to my fave tv show through my headphones on my phone while I sleep and that relaxes me so much that whenever I do that, 95% of the time, I don't have a panic attack while drifting. Lately though my headphones have broke so I don't have them to listen to so I just lie there in bed thinking and thinking when I should be relaxing.

As for waking up with a panic, I rarely get one as soon as I wake up but when it has happened, I keep chocolate and juice next to my bed and I take a bite as soon as I am up because I have noticed low blood sugar in the morning really mucks me up and makes me anxious and it really helps.

[Pepperpot]

Oh I feel like this too - I lie down and all of a sudden I feel sick and hot and it's like a bubble of panic is in my throat and is about to spill out through my mouth (sorry, odd description). I don't know how to deal with it either as I tend to jump out of bed and start flapping, then go downstairs and wander round before dropping onto the sofa exhausted :(

[Danron]

Hey folks,

I'm gonna do a bit of research on this tomorrow and see if I can find some tips for us. Sending you both hugs tonight. Keep posting, we can support each other through this xxx

[Pepperpot]

keep us posted - I am now having a glass of wine to try and chillax but its not working aghhhhhhhh xx

[Danron]

It will pepperpot, try and distract yourself with a film or something, the best advice my last therapist gave me was to 'let it be there', eg if you just let the anxiety be there without re-acting to it it will subside on its own. The more you try to get rid of it the more it stays. Easy advice, but really hard to do! Hugs xxxx

[Pepperpot]

Yeah I know what you mean - I feel a bit anxious cos Mr Pepperpot is on nights and I have the kids :( x

[Danron]

I've had an evil morning this morning, panic and sickness, feeling really rubbish today xx Hope you folks are having a better one xx